Between Populism and Popularism

Walking the thin line between populism and Christian democratic popularism.

What happens when a political tradition built on consensus meets the disruptive force of populism? This volume explores the complex and evolving relationship between Christian Democracy and populist politics across Europe, from the nineteenth century to the present.

Bringing together vivid case studies from Austria, France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, as well as an analysis of the European People’s Party, it reveals how Christian Democratic parties have navigated the pressures of populism: sometimes resisting it, sometimes adapting to it, and often walking a thin line in between. Historical chapters shed light on influential movements and key figures, while contemporary analyses examine how today’s leaders respond to rising political polarisation and voter discontent.

Accessible and thought-provoking, Between Populism and Popularism offers readers a deeper understanding of how Europe’s political centre has been shaped, challenged and transformed over the past 150 years.

"Between Populism and Popularism" was written by Alex Andrione-Moylan, Bruno Béthouart, John W. Boyer, Rita Durão, Lien Jansen, Christiane Liermann Traniello, Pedro Ponte e Sousa and Steven Van Hecke.

Steven Van Hecke is professor of European politics at KU Leuven and visiting professor at the University of Sarajevo. He conducts research on European political parties, EU institutions, and the history of European integration. In 2024, he wrote the book essay Het kantelende continent (Acco), which has now been expanded and translated as Brave Old Continent?.

"Between Populism and Popularism" was edited by Michael Gehler and Peter Heyrman.

Michael Gehler is Head of the Institute of History and Jean Monnet Chair for Modern and Contemporary History of Germany and Europe and European Integration at the University of Hildesheim and Professor at Andrássy University Budapest.

Peter Heyrman is Head of Research at KADOC, the Interfaculty Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society of KU Leuven.

Yes, "Between Populism and Popularism" is part of the "Civitas. Studies in Christian Democracy" series.

As one of the fundamental families of political modernity, Christian Democracy has played an essential part in many areas of contemporary history. The CIVITAS series publishes innovative studies dealing with the history and politics of Christian Democracy in a European and global context and, by doing so, wishes to foster international research and access to sources and to situate Christian Democracy in broader twentieth-century histories. The series is an initiative of CIVITAS – Forum of Archives and Research on Christian Democracy, which was founded by the Istituto Luigi Sturzo (Rome); KADOC Documentation and Research Centre on Religion, Culture and Society (Leuven) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. (Sankt Augustin) in 2013 and serves as a platform for both research and archival institutions and individual archivists and researchers.

The series welcomes academic monographs, edited volumes, and annotated editions of sources that deal with specific topics related to the history and politics of Christian Democracy. In addition to assessment by the Scientific Committee of CIVITAS-FARCD, each volume is submitted to double-blind review.

Editorial Board/Scientific Committee of Civitas

Renato Moro
Michael Borchard
Kim Christiaens
Michael Gehler
Wolfram Kaiser
Piotr Kosicki
Andrea Maria Locatelli
Helmut Wohnout
Steven Van Hecke
Hans Krabbendam
Guido Formigoni
Peter Heyrman
Paolo Acanfora
Matthias Opperman

Editorial contact

Peter Heyrman, KADOC, KU Leuven

Proposals

Proposals and enquiries can be sent to Peter Heyrman.

Please make use of the submission form to present your manuscript or proposal to our board.
Authors interested in Open Access can consult the available funding options.

Links & Resources

Yes, "Between Populism and Popularism" is published Open Access. It is available under a BY-NC-ND license.

Publication of "Between Populism and Popularism" was funded by KU Leuven Fund for Fair Open Access
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The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for "Between Populism and Popularism" is 10.11116/9789461668004.